July gardening guide
July is the time of year to really enjoy your garden as an outdoor space. Borders are at their peak, perennials are in bloom, butterflies are feeding on Buddleja and the vegetable garden is rewarding all your hard work with new crops to harvest every week. The pace of work cools off a little this month with any major changes waiting until autumn, that said, our July gardening guide reveals what essential jobs need our attention to keep gardens looking their best.
Checklist
- Ensure all of your winter protection structures are secure enough to withstand hard weather
- Check that your greenhouse heaters are working well
- Avoid walking on your lawn in heavy frost or snow
- On a dry day, clear out your garden shed ready for spring
- Insulate outdoor taps
- Stand potted plants together in shelter to offer protection
- Now is a good time to give alpine plants fresh gravel
- Harvest Holly for your Christmas decorations and stand them in water until needed
- Take root cuttings of Oriental Poppies
- Brush snow off evergreens, climbers and weaker plants to help them keep their shape
Planning
Now is a good time to look around your garden and note what has done well and what can be improved on for next year.
Start thinking about any projects to tackle in autumn.
Be inspired by visiting open gardens in your area, taking notice of any ideas or plants you could introduce into your own garden. Perennial borders in National Trust or Royal Horticultural Society gardens are at their best at this time of year.
Planting
Continue to sow salad leaves every two weeks to ensure provisions over summer.
Divide congested clumps of early flowering perennials once they have finished flowering.
Thin out wallflower seedlings in their nursery rows.
Plant out summer bedding plants to replace any that have failed or stopped flowering.
Plant out Sprouting broccoli, Winter Cabbage and Brussels Sprouts into firm ground.
Toward the end of the month, ‘ease’ onions to begin the drying off process.
Maintenance
Turn compost heaps as necessary and use any that is ready as mulch.
Loosen ties on trees and standard roses if they are becoming too tight.
Remove some of the woody growth from established shrubs once they have finished flowering to create an open structure.
Weed through your borders and apply compost as mulch.
Raise the height of the blades on your mower if your lawn will get a lot of use through the summer holidays.
Top tips
Leave cut grass on the lawn to preserve moisture if the weather is very dry and cut a little higher.
Pruning
Continue to dead-head bedding plants and roses to keep them looking tidy.
Remove side buds from Dahlias and Chrysanthemum as they appear, leaving only the main bud for a larger, single flower if wanted for cut flowers.
Prune back side shoots on climbers such as Honeysuckle and ornamental Vines to prevent them getting out of hand.
Dead-head Sweet Peas and water every day.
Wildlife and pests
Make sure that drinking and bathing water is available for birds, especially during dry weather.
Continue to control slugs to prevent damage to your crops.
Ensure your Broad Beans are clear of blackfly and pinch off any affected tips.
Keep an eye out for powdery mildew, vine weevils and lily beetles.
Harvesting
Pick Courgettes before they become marrows.
Harvest Apricots, Peaches and Nectarines.
Pick Runner Beans often to stop them becoming stringy.
Continue harvesting Beetroot, Peas, Potatoes, Tomatoes and Salad Leaves.
